


149. Sam and Ryan celebrate Christmas in Sydney with both their families

by alleyoops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten [149]
Category: Actor RPF, Australian Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), True Blood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 07:37:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10737120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleyoops/pseuds/alleyoops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica





	149. Sam and Ryan celebrate Christmas in Sydney with both their families

No explosions yet. It's been about an hour since he and Sam introduced their families to each other and unofficially begun the blending process, and so far everyone seems to be taking it pretty well. He and Sam flew into Sydney from Perth with Sam's parents this morning, and Sam has hired out a gorgeously homey little Italian restaurant for the evening. It's far more space than they actually need, of course, but their privacy is at a premium. Ryan's brother Tim is cuddling up on a couch with his new girlfriend, while Ryan's other brother Matt and his... well, the girl everyone _expects_ him to announce as his girlfriend, after four years of close friendship -- anyway, they're pelting Sam with questions about _Wrath of the Titans_. Most of which, of course, he's contractually forbidden from answering at this point, but Ryan can tell that Sam is handling the deflections as gracefully as always. Their dads are seated at the bar with their pints, and they seem to be hitting it off fine so far.

And the biggest potential powderkeg, Sofia Kwanten and Jeanne Worthington. They're already ensconced in the middle of a long beautifully-set table, deep in conversation. Ryan doesn't know just what they're discussing - he isn't sure he wants to know - but it appears to be going smoothly enough. He breathes a covert sigh of relief, and goes to stand next to Sam.

"You played spy yet?" Sam asks when Ryan joins him, nodding at their mums.

"No. A little scared to," Ryan admits, glancing over his shoulder. Then he slips his arm companionably around Sam's waist, completely thrilled that he can be openly affectionate here, in front of their families.

"We should have set up a secret mic," Sam says with a grin. "Then we could have eavesdropped."

"Well, neither of them's gone for a chokehold yet..." Ryan blows out a breath and sips at his beer. 

"Nah, it's not going to be as bad as you think," Matt assures them, then nods at Tim and his girlfriend. "Because Mum can't freakin' stand Michelle, so you look like the good son right now." He grins.

"Why doesn't she like her?" Sam asks. The girl looks nice enough and sure as hell seemed that way when they were introduced.

Matt's friend Sarah snorts a laugh. "She's from Melbourne, which apparently is bad enough. But even worse, Sofia thinks she talks about herself too much. And Tim just listens."

"For saying your mum wants everyone married off and popping out grandkids, she sure is picky," Sam teases, tugging Ryan in close, his eyes sparkling, locked on his lover's.

Ryan just smiles, losing himself in the happiness radiating from Sam. He wants to kiss the delicious curve of his lover's lips, but he thinks they're probably testing their families' limits enough already for right now. 

"Ryan." He looks up to find himself being beckoned, both mums watching him expectantly.

"Yeah?" Ryan links his fingers with Sam's and tugs him over to the table as well.

"We were wondering," Sofia begins. "Is Sam going to wear a ring as well?"

"Now, or when we're married?" Sam asks.

"When you're married," Sofia clarifies, glancing at the way Ryan intertwines his fingers with Sam's. It looks to be either support or protectiveness, but she can't be sure which.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Sam says, shrugging lightly, "but I will if Ryan wants me to."

Sofia raises an eyebrow. "Won't you want people to know?" she asks, ignoring the sudden flash of discomfort on Ryan's face. "If you don't wear a wedding ring, it will seem like you're hiding it."

"Mum," Ryan murmurs in warning, a plea in his eyes. "Sam has to think about how he appears to the public."

Sam laughs. "I don't think there'll be any hiding it once we get married," he says. "Ring or no ring, it'll be plastered all over the fucking place."

"Language, Sam," Jeanne says quickly.

"Sorry, Mum."

"I only raised boys, too," Sofia reassures her before pinning Sam with her appraising gaze once more. "So you plan on making the news public?"

"In four years, when we get married, yes," Sam says, careful with each and every word. "Of course." He glances at his mum. What the hell do they think he's going to do? Hide Ryan away in the fucking attic or something?

"We're going to check on the food," Ryan says pointedly, eyeing his own mother. If the two women want to get together and start grilling them, fine. But he's not going to keep making it so easy on them.

"I don't fucking get it," Sam says, careful to whisper even once they're out of earshot. "Why the fuck does she think I proposed? So I could keep you hidden away? Do they think I _like_ not being able to touch you in public, fucking hold your hand."

"I don't know," Ryan sighs, pulling Sam into a hug and resting his head on his lover's shoulder for a moment. "I try not to explore her motivations too much, because it usually just pisses me off when I do. I like this, though," he murmurs, giving Sam a smile. "Getting to hold you in front of other people. Even if I won't get to sit on your lap during dinner."

"In the interests of full disclosure," Sam says, eyes full-on sparkling now, "maybe you should."

Ryan's eyes widen as he tries to determine whether that's a suggestion or a _suggestion_.

"Don't worry," Sam says, his grin calming a little. "I'm joking. As much as I'd like to see everyone silenced for a bit, we're not coming out on that part of our relationship."

"Okay," Ryan breathes, relaxing. Then he raises a sly eyebrow. "Anyway, there's still a chance they think _you're_ the bottom."

Sam just laughs and pulls Ryan in even closer, kissing him hard on the mouth.

"I like to think I've gotten pretty open-minded over the years," George Kwanten murmurs, sitting at the bar with Ron Worthington. He nods towards their boys. "But I admit, I still haven't gotten used to that."

Ron glances over then back at his drink. "I'm not sure I ever will," he admits.

George nods and finishes off his beer before signaling for another. "Ryan's dated a lot of girls in his time. A few men, too. But he's never been so happy as he is with Sam." Even with his son having primarily kept his private life private, his family can clearly see that much.

Ron nods. "Same with Sam. Obviously. Or he wouldn't be making this kind of commitment."

"Yeah. We never saw this happening for Ryan. Well, Sofia dreamed about it, of course -- but I think deep down even she didn't really believe it would happen," George murmurs.

"Why not?" Ron asks. "He's smart, good-looking, athletic, has a decent career. Surely you thought someone would snatch him up?"

George shrugs. "He always seemed to sort of... float, from person to person," he says in an attempt to explain. "The one time he settled down with someone, none of us really cared for the bloke -- Sofia tried," he admits, thinking of the few times Ryan had brought Andrew home to meet his family. "But the guy just wasn't _warm_ , do you know what I mean? I didn't think he was the right choice for Ryan. And anyway, the gay community seems to do things differently with their relationships. Marriage isn't just the expected result." And that about sums up how deeply George has let himself think on 'the gay community.'

Ron nods. "At least you've got two others to carry on the family name," he says, glancing at Ryan's brothers.

Glancing aside at his other boys, George shrugs. "Yeah, they're not showing signs of settling down any quicker than Ryan did. But I assume that, eventually... yeah. We can hope. Sofia really thought that Tim's last girlfriend was here to stay, but the two of them surprised us all and broke up a couple months ago." He chuckles and sips at his beer. "I let Sofia do the worrying." And it's a hell of a relief to do so.

"I should try that with Jeanne, but it doesn't really seem to matter to her." Ron shakes his head. " _I'm_ the one who wants the grandkids."

 _Interesting_. George eyes Ron over his pint, curious. "Does Sam particularly want children?" he asks. "He seems so career-focused."

Ron sighs. "I don't think he cares either way. He told Jeanne he wants them because Ryan wants them and he knows Ryan would make a great dad."

"Eh. That doesn't sound like a great reason to have kids," George mutters, frowning. "I mean, what if they break up? He'd still be a father, without Ryan. Or... well, maybe, he'll change his mind."

"No, no," Ron says, waving for another refill on his pint. "If he commits to having kids, he commits. Sam doesn't do anything halfway and if it wasn't something he wanted at all, he wouldn't do it _just_ to make Ryan happy. It's more that he couldn't care either way but he knows how much it means to Ryan and he wants them to have that together."

George nods, absorbing that without further comment. Everyone has doubts, right? He'll just keep his to himself. "So, be honest," he says, changing the subject after checking over his shoulder to make sure they don't have any eavesdroppers. "How long was it before the idea of your son with another man stopped making you feel physically ill?"

Ron gives George a look and glances over at the boys who still have their arms around each other. "You're assuming it's stopped," he says. "No offence to your son. He's a good-looking lad but..." He shakes his head, taking a sip from his newly-refilled pint. "You?"

That's about what George had expected. "Honestly I'm kind of glad to hear it," he confesses with a rueful smile. "Because sometimes I worry I'll never get used to the idea."

"Well, we don't have to, do we?" Ron asks. "It's really no different than them not wanting to think of us with their mums."

A safe distance away, Ryan eyes his father and muses over what the two men might be discussing. Not that he's going to get close enough to actually find out, hell no -- if Ron can find some kind of peace through all this with George, then Ryan certainly has no desire to interfere with the process. Grinning, Ryan slips his arms around Sam's waist and lays his head on his lover's shoulder. "It looks like everyone's getting along so far," he murmurs, relief clear in his voice.

"Maybe too well in some cases," Sam says with a grin, nodding at their mums again. "But yeah, it's good. Better than we'd hoped for," he adds, nodding as Frank, the owners' son, comes out of the back and motions that dinner's ready. "There we go. We'd better everyone to the table."

"All right. Anyone hungry?" Ryan asks, pitching his voice louder. He beckons at his brothers and their friends, then gives his dad a smile as George gets to his feet. "No, no, sit wherever you want," he tells Michelle, gesturing at the long table. He lays claim to a pair of chairs in the middle, trying not to wince when that puts him and Sam precisely across from their mums.

Everyone seated, wine poured, the food on huge platters in front of them, Sam stands for a moment and raises his glass, his free hand on his Ryan's shoulder. "I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. It means a lot to us both to see you all getting along and it feels good to know we have your love and support."

Ryan smiles shyly up at his lover, glad that Sam is so comfortable with the speech-making end of things; that makes one of them. And Sam's commanding presence counts for a lot, too. Even Tim is paying attention, actually looking away from his girlfriend for a few moments.

"Anyway. We should let you eat, this is fabulous food," Sam says, gesturing at the table, "but we just wanted to say thank you and share our hopes for this being the beginning of a long and happy melding of our two families. To all of us," he finishes, squeezing Ryan's shoulder and raising his glass.

"To all of us," Ryan echoes in a murmur, lifting his wineglass. He keeps his eyes on his lover as he drinks, warmed by more than just the Merlot. He's amazed that they're here, the lot of them together, and for such a reason. It's difficult to keep from throwing himself at Sam, fucking climbing him and kissing the hell out of him. But he manages to restrain himself, with the knowledge that later he'll do just that.


End file.
